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Spaceliner

All articles tagged with #spaceliner

technology15 days ago•8 min saved

Europe Bets on a Winged, Partially Reusable Heavy-Lifter to Rival Starship

DLR researchers propose the RLV C5—a winged, partially reusable European heavy-lift able to place 70+ tonnes in orbit using a SpaceLiner-style booster recovered by aircraft, achieving a payload fraction of about 74%. SpaceX’s Starship, already flying, targets full reusability with ~59 t to orbit today and potential upgrades to ~115 t reusable or ~188 t expendable. The paper frames RLV C5 as an incremental, cost- and risk-efficient path for Europe to gain independent access to super-heavy lift, leveraging existing concepts, while acknowledging Starship’s larger scale and ongoing development. It’s a strategic choice rather than a direct rivalry.

via SciTechDaily|

#dlr #europe #heavy-lift

technology2 months ago•2 min saved

Europe Proposes Winged, Mid-Air-Recovered Heavy-Lift to Rival Starship

European researchers outline the RLV C5, a concept for a fully reusable first-stage derived from the SpaceLiner paired with an expendable upper stage, which would use wings and a carrier aircraft to capture the stage in mid-air and could carry up to 77 tons to orbit—about 74% of its total mass—potentially offering a cheaper, smaller alternative to SpaceX's Starship. The design is still theoretical, and realization would require significant investment and years of development as Europe seeks independent access to space.

via extremetech.com|

#europe-independence #heavy-lift #rlv-c5

space3 months ago•4 min saved

Europe sketches winged RLV C5 as an alternative to Starship

A German Aerospace Center analysis of SpaceX's Starship estimates current fully reusable payload around 59 tonnes to LEO, with next‑gen versions potentially reaching ~115 t reusable or ~188 t expendable. The paper also outlines an European option, the RLV C5, pairing SpaceLiner's winged booster with an expendable upper stage and mid‑air recovery by a large aircraft, delivering about 70 t to orbit with ~74% of its mass going to payload. It’s presented as an intermediate, Europe‑led path rather than a direct competition to Starship, which has real‑world flight history but still faces full reusability engineering challenges.

via Universe Today|

#dlr #heavy-lift #rlv-c5